BSF jawan killed in J&K ambush

22 March 2001The Times of India The Times of India News Service

SRINAGAR: A BSF jawan was killed and another injured when militants opened fire on a patrol party at Naidkadal in the old city here on Thursday morning. Elsewhere, eight civilians sustained injuries in a grenade explosion caused by militants at Qazigund on the national highway. A senior police officer said that militants, after a gap of two years, appeared in the old city on Thursday and ambushed a BSF patrol party at Naidkadal resulting in the death of one jawan, while another received minor injuries. The deceased was identified as Haripal of the 63rd battalion. The entire area was immediately cordoned off and a search operation launched to nab the militants. Senior police officers rushed to the spot to assess the situation and ordered stepping up of security around the old city. The security agencies had received reports about the presence of armed militants in the city. In another incident, militants, in an attempt to attack a security picket, threw a handgrenade at Qazigund on the national highway on Thursday, which missed the intended target and fell on the road, resulting in injuries to six pedestrians. All the injured were admitted to hospital. Meanwhile, two persons, Bilal Peer and Sareer Ahmad Peer, were arrested from the Kralpora area of Tangmarg on Wednesday when they were extorting money from the people at gunpoint. One SLR with a magazine and 18 rounds were recovered from the duo. On interrogation, it was found that they had snatched the weapon from the police guards at the house of a politician in Tangmarg.